"a police dog led officers to the man, but he refused to drop a handgun he was holding."

This sentence is constructed in such a way that it is telling us the dog refused to drop his gun. 'He' refers back to 'dog', not to 'man,' which is the object of a prepositional phrase. I believe the writer meant to say "a police dog led officers to the man, who refused to drop a handgun he was holding."

Awesome!!! To hell with the perp. Perhaps he was seeking death by cop. Hope the thug croakes and that the cop is dealing well with the shooting. Far too many thugs extant. Chalk up one for the good guys.